Seoul to bring back 8 Korean citizens from U.S. prisons

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has decided to take back eight South
Korean prisoners currently jailed in the United States to allow them to serve out
their remaining prison terms in their homeland, a South Korean diplomat here said
Saturday.
The Seoul government informed the U.S. Department of Justice of its decision last
month, according to the diplomat.
The prisoners are among 40 South Korean citizens held in U.S. prisons who say
they wish to be relocated to South Korea, citing language, food and cultural
differences, the diplomat said.
"It is highly likely that they will be sent back to South Korea, although the
U.S. federal government and state governments involved must make the final
decision," he said.
South Korea has so far received only one South Korean prisoner from the U.S.
since 2005, when it joined the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons to
bring back South Korean citizens serving in prisons abroad and to extradite
foreign nationals in South Korean prisons.
About 1,400 South Koreans are imprisoned abroad, including 200 in the United States.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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